Cheap Flights to Amsterdam
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Despite competition from up-and-coming EU accession cities such as Prague and Budapest, Amsterdam is one of the most popular European city break destinations, as well as being a very important business and conference city. Amsterdam's award winning Schiphol Airport is one of the best in Europe, and is particularly popular with UK travellers from regional cities who want to make onward connecting flights with KLM or their partner airline Northwest.
The problem with Amsterdam's popularity, and that of its airport in particular, is that it can often get very congested, making cheap flights very difficult to come by at peak periods, and also making for long transfers through the airport.
Availability of cheap flights to Amsterdam
The main airline offering flights to Amsterdam is KLM, who also offer onward connections to some 400 cities worldwide. This means that many passengers using KLM's flights to Amsterdam are actually continuing on elsewhere, although this correspondingly allows considerably more flights to Amsterdam to become available than would be otherwise. KLM often offer heavily discounted flights to Europe via Amsterdam, with prices sometimes as low as £60 return. The only problem is that they then add a hefty level of taxes and charges, which are often replicated twice the due to the need to take a connecting flight to Amsterdam. Their prices for flights to Amsterdam as a final destination are often not much cheaper than this, making it rare to find flights to Amsterdam with KLM available from much below £100 when all taxes and charges are added on. The notable exception here is KLM's flights from London to Amsterdam, where the airline faces stiff competition from scheduled airlines as well as from Easyjet.
Budget airline flights to Amsterdam
Amsterdam was one of the first destinations Easyjet started flying to, and has since become one of their major European bases. However, in recent years, as the market for scheduled flights, and particularly the trans-Atlantic flights, has recovered, Easyjet have found themselves unable to continue operating many of their flights to Amsterdam profitably. Schiphol has a particularly high charging regime, combined with stringent local environmental regulations and a sprawling runway layout which requires extensive taxiing. This is made Amsterdam less appealing to the budget airlines, with Easyjet having recently cancelled their flights to Amsterdam from Newcastle, with their flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Amsterdam also expected to follow suit.
Despite the disadvantage Schiphol poses for the airlines, the city itself remains ever popular with tourists. Numerous other destinations in the Netherlands and also in neighbouring Germany and Belgium can easily be reached via onward rail connections direct from Schiphol. This has meant that although Easyjet have chosen not to expand their range of flights to Amsterdam, other budget airlines such as BMI Baby, Jet2 and Thomsonfly, have offered flights to Amsterdam from almost all of their respective hub airports.
Alternative airports
For the city of Amsterdam itself, there is no viable alternative to Amsterdam Schiphol. Although Ryanair do still offer cheap flights to Eindhoven, they have drastically cut back their range of flights in the Netherlands in recent years, having previously flown to provincial cities Groningen and Maastricht. If your final destination is in or around Rotterdam, then direct flights there are also available from London. Commuter flights are available from London Heathrow and City, whereas budget flights from London Stansted to Rotterdam are offered by Transavia. Although Rotterdam Airport does not have the extensive network of onward rail connections that Schiphol has, Rotterdam does have the advantage of a simple terminal leading onto a single runway, dramatically reducing the walking distance and taxiing time required.
For passengers with time to spare, regular ferries to Holland are available from several UK ports, whereas Eurostar offer combined tickets to Amsterdam via Brussels. The Thalys express train from Brussels to Amsterdam takes around 1 1/2 hours.
Mini Guide to Amsterdam
Whether it be as a result of the canals, the pancakes, or the (relatively) easy availability of certain narcotics, the capital of the Netherlands - known as “the Venice of the North” - remains one of the most thoroughly laidback destinations in Europe. With its friendly, English-speaking locals, Amsterdam has long been an attractive prospect for the traveller; its popularity can perhaps be most immediately gauged by just how hard accommodation is to come by in the city, and how high prices can be for those rooms that are available.
Once booked, however, you’ll be free to explore Amsterdam at your own relaxed pace. Rows of bike racks and the perpetual ringing of handlebar-mounted bells mark this as a rare city where two wheels take priority over four; an excellent tram system also renders hire cars somewhat redundant, unless you’re planning to explore the surrounding area. Glorious expanses of parkland at the heart of the metropolis - such as the Vondelpark and the Museumplein - allow for an even more leisurely stride to be adopted.
Culturally, Amsterdam has long perfected a mix of high and lower-brow pursuits. Rembrandt is well represented by the Rijksmuseum, set to have completed its lengthy refurbishment by the end of 2008, and by the Rembrandt House. Fans of earless painters, meanwhile, will find some interest in the Van Gogh Museum, which splits the Dutch artist’s paintings with the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The Stedelijk Museum, presently relocated at the harbourside, stages exhibitions of modern art.
Another must-see is the Anne Frank House; those who’ve read Frank’s diary find being in the physical space in which it was written a profoundly moving experience. Anne Frank’s entrapment finds a strange (some might say perverse) echo in the contemporary sex workers plying their wares behind windows in the city’s red light district. Popular with broad-minded travellers (it’s home to the city’s Sexmuseum), this area is best avoided by those with families, and somewhat hellish at night.
Amsterdam Flight News
- New Amsterdam and Toulouse flights from Manchester - 07/04/2009
- Discounted flights to Amsterdam with KLM - 04/03/2009
- KLM Amsterdam flights from just £85 return - 19/02/2009
Other flights and travel news stories:
- Airlines flout EU law over travel insurance - 02/07/2009
- New Copenhagen flights from Manchester - 02/07/2009
- BA highlights extra charges of no-frills airlines - 24/06/2009
Flights to Netherlands - Other Cities
Can't find any good value flights to Amsterdam? Read our general guide about finding flights to Netherlands, or try one of the other cities in Netherlands mentioned below:
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More flights tips
- It is extremely easy to get from Schiphol airport into the centre of Amsterdam, but it is also worth bearing in mind just how many other cities are within easy reach by regular train services from the airport. As well as offering numerous connections throughout the Netherlands, direct trains run from Schiphol to Antwerp and Brussels in Belgium. An even wider range of European destinations such as Cologne and Paris are available from Amsterdam Centraal and Duivendrecht stations. [by James Avery; Flightmapping.com - 16/02/2006]
- If you have a long wait to your flight from Amsterdam, then why not take advantage of one of the free lounging chairs which are available at various places throughout the terminal. The downstairs ones tend to get taken fairly quickly, but we've usually found that there is plenty of space upstairs. [by James Avery; Flightmapping.com - 16/02/2006]
Other useful Amsterdam travel websites
- Amsterdam (AMS) Airport Transfers - Find airport transfers with Transfers.net
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport - Official Website
Related terms: Flights to Amsterdam from the UK, cheap Amsterdam flights, direct flights to Amsterdam, flights to Amsterdam, Netherlands |
